Karin Grip

Effects of a Group-Based Intervention on Psychological Health and Perceived Parenting Capacity among Mothers Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): A Preliminary Study

This study evaluated a community-based treatment program in Sweden for mothers subjected to intimate partner violence. Results based on group means indicated that the mothers showed significantly reduced trauma and psychological symptoms and improved sense of coherence after participating in the program. Surprisingly, no improvement regarding perceived parental locus of control was found. Furthermore, as a complement to group statistics a reliable change index was used, which resulted in more modest results regarding the effectiveness of the treatment.

Maternal report on child outcome after a community-based program following intimate partner violence

Background: This study examined the perceived effectiveness of a 15-week community-based program for 46 children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and their mothers. Aims: The primary aims were to describe the children who entered one of the existing community-based programs in terms of behavioral problems and to evaluate the impact of the program on childrens general behavioral functioning as assessed by their mothers. Results: Childrens rated behavioral problems (SDQ) dropped following treatment; the effect size was in the medium range. The social impairment caused by the problems decreased as well. The effect regarding behavioral problems was not related to the degree of exposure to IPV or the mothers own changes in trauma symptoms following treatment. Results were analyzed as well at the individual level with the Reliable Change Index (RCI), which showed that the majority of children were unchanged following treatment. Conclusions: One implication from the study is the need for baseline screening and assessment. About half of the current sample had a clinical symptom picture indicating the need for specialized psychiatric/psychotherapeutic treatment. Furthermore, the reduction in behavioral problems was significant but many children still had high levels of behavioral problems after treatment, indicating a need of a more intense or a different type of intervention.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence and the reported effects of psychosocial interventions

Using a repeated measures design posttraumatic stress (PTS), psychological and behavioral problems significantly decreased following intervention in children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV), with use of traditional group analyses. Analyses using the reliable change index (RCI), however, revealed that few children were improved or recovered, implying that interventions in common use should be evaluated for their significant impact on the individual level in addition to group level statistics. Positive changes in children’s behavioral problems were related to the mother’s improvement of their own mental health. Direct victimization by the perpetrator was not associated with treatment changes but with higher symptom levels at study entry. Amount of contact with the perpetrator was neither related to symptom load nor to changes following treatment.

Thinking critically about cross-cultural implementation—Swedish social workers’ experiences of testing the Kids’ Club method for helping child and mother victims of intimate partner violence

ABSTRACT There are calls for evidence-based methods for helping children to deal with experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in many countries. Therefore, it has been commonplace to implement such methods from outside of their home country. The aim of this study is to examine Swedish social workers’ experiences of testing the American Kids’ Club method for child and mother victims of IPV. After having tested leading Kids’ Club groups, seventeen social workers at four different locations were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The results indicate that the social workers generally accepted the method. This was related both to some general features of the method and to their perceiving it as somewhat flexible. According to the social workers, the method needs some cultural adaptation to better suit the Swedish social services setting, otherwise it cannot be fully accepted. Finally, they thought that successful implementation depended on an organizational structure that enabled enough children to be referred to the programme as well as either high personal commitment or an organization that prioritized the method. Based on these results, we conclude that importing an American evidence-based group method to help children exposed to IPV to Sweden demands attention to issues of cultural adaption.